Periodic TableWare: Drinking Glasses Meet Lab Equipment

There's just something inherently appealing about the look of laboratory equipment. Between the elegant lines of an Erlenmeyer flask and the smooth, blown-glass lip of a beaker, it's hard to look at a rack of science equipment and not want to start experimenting. And now that science class aesthetic could be coming to the kitchen.

Science equipment and tableware seem like a natural pairing. With the still rising popularity of "molecular mixology" turning our cocktails into science fair projects, it wouldn't be that surprising to see a Bloody Mary served foaming from the mouth of a papier maché volcano. But designer Marshall Jamshidi has created a line of science-inspired drinkware based on the iconic look of laboratory glass.

"Just as a chemical reaction is two or more materials combined to form a novel substance, Periodic TableWare is a synthesis of two intentions; A creation produced when the form of laboratory glass is applied to the function of drinkware, both for the table and the bar," he writes on the Periodic TableWare Kickstarter page. "Laboratory glass has an appeal that is both alien and recognizable. Its iconic look conveys the power of science, and in its clarity are curves that are clean and beautiful."

I know at least one engineering Ph.D. who will probably be racing to put this set on her wedding registry.

The Periodic TableWare line includes highball glasses, rocks glasses, wine glasses, a cocktail shaker, a decanter, and shot glasses. And while they'd be excellent for pouring and sipping carefully measured artisanal cocktails, they're just as good for milk or juice for any pint-sized budding scientists out there.

One glass alone is $25, including shipping, but larger collections of assorted glassware are also available at the Kickstarter, which runs through July 14.